Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
WAVERLY, Nebraska — One of the big threats posed by Mother Nature in Utah is drought, and maybe earthquakes.
In Nebraska, tornados are the biggest danger, and — having grown up in the state — I remember the sporadic tornado warnings each spring, extending into summer.
I never went through a tornado, but I recall the dread the threat of one could induce. As a high school student, I remember the entire school being shepherded to a fallout shelter in the basement of the facility to wait out a tornado warning. I remember the muggy, gray, overcast conditions that typically accompanied tornado threats, keeping tuned to the radio with a measure of apprehension for the latest news.
When a twister struck the Lincoln and Omaha area last Friday, it brought back plenty of memories. I still have family in Lincoln and Omaha. Thankfully, no one died in the mayhem, but the tornado left plenty of damage, and numerous videos have been posted online showing the huge funnel cloud.
The video that jumped out for me, though, was the close encounter a train conductor captured on his smartphone, from inside a stopped train engine, as the twister passed virtually overhead near Waverly, a city between Lincoln and Omaha.
"That just took that building out," says one of the men as the tornado obliterates some sort of structure, blowing it to smithereens.
It gets nearer to the train, and the man gets apprehensive. "Um, shouldn't we get away from the windows?" he says. "Taking cover."
The flying debris nears the engine, then you can hear it striking the train. "Right over us. Holding on, holding on," says the other man.
It quickly passes and the strong, double-pane windows of the train engine hold tight, for the most part, though one appears to have shattered. Nevertheless, it took a toll — Fox Weather reported 31 cars the engine was pulling were derailed.
The second man peers out after the tornado passes and realizes they may be stranded for a while, seeing the surrounding damage and derailed train cars. "We ain't going nowhere," he says.
National Weather Service officials determined the damage from the twister was consistent with an EF-3 tornado and wind speeds of up to 158 mph, Fox Weather said.
Have You Seen This?
